


Will You Marry Me

by baeconandeggs, baekingneeds



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Demigods, Do Kyungsoo | D.O - Freeform, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai - Freeform, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 17:57:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14574459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/baekingneeds/pseuds/baekingneeds
Summary: One was a mortal and one was a Demigod, but they were truly and deeply in love. From best friends to lovers, marriage was the next step. Find a theme, set a date, pick a venue, and say their wedding vows – all this should be easy. Except they couldn’t even get past the first step without having complications.





	Will You Marry Me

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #:** BAE514
> 
> **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story.** The celebrities’ names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author’s Note:** To the prompter, thank you for such a lovely and adorable idea! I’m pretty sure this isn’t what you had in mind because of some miscommunication in between but I hope you’ll still enjoy it! Also, thank you so much to N for beta-ing this for me and basically listening to me whine about the most inconsequential things ever. I wouldn’t have been able to finish this without you  <3 I tried my best to research about Greek Mythology but I ended up making up most of the stuff anyway.

When Chanyeol and Baekhyun had first met one another, it had been at a playground near their houses. They lived on the same street where there was a park nearby which was connected to a large playground where children always gathered after school or on the weekends. Chanyeol and Baekhyun had been no exception. The playground was their kingdom of peace, freedom, and joy, as it had been for all the other children then. While all the children had played together, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had instantly been more attracted to each other than to the others. Naturally, they had spent more time together.

After weeks of playing together, Chanyeol and Baekhyun only grew closer and closer. They climbed the poles and sat on the swings as their parents watched on lovingly from the side, making sure that they were safe at all times. It was all be fine and normal, until one day, Baekhyun’s father disappeared, leaving the poor boy sitting on the bench as he waited for his father to come back for him. Chanyeol noticed how upset he had been and went over to sit with Baekhyun. As he tried to comfort Baekhyun, the other had instead, burst out crying, drawing Chanyeol’s mother’s attention over to them.

There had been a guilty look on Chanyeol’s face as his mother approached them, immediately telling the woman that it was Chanyeol who had made Baekhyun cry. But before she had the opportunity to scold him, Baekhyun stopped crying, and hugged Chanyeol while sniffing, his nose red as he stared at Chanyeol’s mother with teary puppy eyes.

At once, Chanyeol’s mother understood that it hadn’t been Chanyeol who made the poor boy burst into tears, but rather, it had been something else. Eyes softening and tone gentle, she asked Baekhyun, “where’s your father?” Upon hearing the question, tears started to fall quickly and freely down Baekhyun’s cheeks again, and Chanyeol’s mother’s heart had ached at the scene. The small boy clutched onto the sleeve of Chanyeol’s shirt as he sobbed quietly, restraining himself from making a scene and wailing loudly like he had previously.

Meanwhile, Chanyeol’s eyes had widened as he pointed accusatively at his mother for making Baekhyun cry. Frowning, his mother simply tapped him on the nose before turning her attention back to Baekhyun and promising him that she would help him find his father. As soon as Baekhyun heard that, his tears had lessened and he had been looking at Chanyeol’s mother with such hopeful eyes that made her determined to find his father no matter what.

She gathered some of the other mothers at the playground to look around for Baekhyun’s father, the only man in their ‘Playground Parents’ group and had called Yura, her elder daughter, to the playground to watch over Chanyeol and Baekhyun as she and the other adults went to search for Baekhyun’s father. As it had started to get darker, more and more of the other mothers stopped looking, as they needed to bring their children home. But Chanyeol’s mother stayed on, looking for Baekhyun’s father until nightfall because she had made him a promise and she was unable to bring herself to tell the pitiful boy that she couldn’t find his father.

When it had become clear that Baekhyun’s father was nowhere to be found, she went back to the park bench where Chanyeol and Baekhyun had been sitting with Yura and found Baekhyun fast asleep in Yura’s arms.

Seeing Baekhyun sleeping peacefully and innocently like that made it difficult for Chanyeol’s mother to wake him up to tell him the truth. So she settled for stopping by Baekhyun’s house first with the three children to see if Baekhyun’s father had been at home the whole time.

He hadn’t.

That left Chanyeol’s mother with no choice but to the bring Baekhyun to her home for that night.

The next morning, Baekhyun had woken up panicking as he realised his unfamiliar surroundings. He had started bawling loudly, shocking Chanyeol awake and both Chanyeol’s parents came rushing to the room. His parents had to spend two hours comforting Baekhyun before the latter calmed down, the whole time holding onto Chanyeol’s hand.

Chanyeol’s mother had promised Baekhyun again that she would help him look for his father that day. But that wasn’t necessary because Baekhyun’s father turned up at the Park’s doorstep the next morning at the crack of dawn, apologising profusely and asking for his son back. Chanyeol’s mother had been reluctant at first but she hadn’t had the rights to say no. So, very unwillingly, she handed Baekhyun back to his father.

Weeks later, Baekhyun had returned to the Park household, as his father explained to Chanyeol’s parents that Baekhyun was _special_. That he was a Demigod, the offspring of the goddess Aphrodite and said that he would be spending some time with her, a day or two, so he couldn’t take care of Baekhyun. It had all been very bizarre and confusing but Chanyeol’s parents had agreed to watch over Baekhyun whenever his father had to go to _Olympus_ to rendezvous with the child’s mother until Baekhyun was old enough to take care of himself.

When Baekhyun had first told Chanyeol that he was the son of Aphrodite and a human man, his father, Chanyeol did not believe a single word. Even when Baekhyun had managed to make dead flowers look beautiful (how, Chanyeol never understood) because he inherited Aphrodite’s gift to make everything look lovely, Chanyeol didn’t believe him.

It had been until they were sixteen did Chanyeol finally believe Baekhyun. A man called Junmyeon turned up at their doorstep and asked for Baekhyun to go to the Camp Half-Blood with him where all Demigods lived and received their training.

Meanwhile, when Chanyeol first told Baekhyun that he was a wizard, Baekhyun believed his every word. Even when Chanyeol hadn’t been able to do magic at all, coming up with excuses that he could only do them when he turned eleven and had started to attend Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. Even when Chanyeol had turned eleven and hadn’t gone to Hogwarts, let alone do a single magic trick, Baekhyun believed him.

Until one day when they were fifteen and Chanyeol wanted to watch a Harry Potter movie marathon with Baekhyun did the other finally realise that Chanyeol had been lying to him.

The aftermath wasn’t pretty but it didn’t put their friendship to an end either. What Baekhyun learnt from this incident though, was to not put so much trust and faith into Chanyeol ever again.

_Ever again._

Best friends, yes, they were best friends; a title given to their relationship when they were younger. When they were innocent and full of life, wondering about their future together under starry night skies. When they were laughing without a care in the world and had dreamed of the most absurd things (not that Baekhyun being a Demigod was remotely normal in any sense). When they cried together because Baekhyun had to live in Camp Half-Blood where he would complete his studies and finish his Demigod training (whatever that was).

Separation meant that Chanyeol would no longer be able to see Baekhyun at the breakfast table and steal the shorter boy’s cereal. It meant that they would no longer walk to school together or attend the same classes. Also, it meant that Chanyeol would have no one to talk to at night if he couldn’t fall asleep (texting and phone calls weren’t counted).

Though, it also meant that after months of not seeing each other, the two realised just how much they had missed one another.

So the first time Baekhyun had gone back to the Parks after six months of living in Camp Half-Blood, Chanyeol asked the other to marry him. Meanwhile, Baekhyun insisted on just dating.

They weren’t four or five, at the age where children liked to make empty promises to one another such as ‘forever’ and ‘happily ever after’ but with the way Chanyeol had stared at Baekhyun in plain disbelief, shock, and absolute hurt, the Demigod started to doubt Chanyeol’s mental age. Maybe the tall giant with large ears would always remain a four-year-old on the inside.

Two weeks later, Baekhyun agreed to the ‘engagement’. Because why wouldn’t he? Chanyeol had spent the entire two weeks of his holiday from training to become a _revered_ Demigod, chasing him and buying him all of his favourite food. Most importantly, Chanyeol had promised him happiness for eternity. It sounded a lot like promises children would make but at that point in time, Baekhyun hadn’t really been thinking properly. All the Demigod knew was that there had been butterflies in his stomach and his heart fluttering like the wings of those insects. He believed Chanyeol and he had said ‘yes’.

Now, what was it about never putting so much trust and faith into Chanyeol ever again? Well, that hadn’t been a concern for Baekhyun then because it had already been long out of his mind, erased by his constant thinking of the tall mortal.

Best friends, yes, they were still best friends, except they were also something more.

Lovers.

It had a nice ring to their relationship.

~*~

Graduating had been great. Chanyeol could remember every single detail of his ceremony, except maybe the valedictorian speech because who cared about that anyway, especially since he had not been the one delivering the speech.

“Chanyeol!” A familiar voice shouted from the crowd.

For a while, Chanyeol couldn’t find the source despite knowing that he should be looking out for a black-haired guy, namely his boyfriend, because there were simply too many people around. Frowning, Chanyeol tiptoed a little and smiled when he saw Baekhyun weaving through the crowd.

So much for being a Demigod. Baekhyun was exactly like a human, pushing his way through the throngs of bodies and stumbling in front of Chanyeol with a tired grin on his face.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun looked slightly breathless but he also looked more than breathtaking in Chanyeol’s opinion as the other panted and swept his fringe away from his face. “Happy graduation!”

“Thanks, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol bent down and kissed Baekhyun on the lips. Pulling away, he found the other grinning and he couldn’t help but smile back. “Where are my flowers?”

With a scoff, Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol smugly. “You’re with Aphrodite’s son. Why do you need flowers?”

“But I want flowers.”

“Me or flowers?”

“You.”

Nodding, Baekhyun proudly laid his hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “That’s why you don’t need flowers.”

“But – ”

Before Chanyeol could complete the remainder of his sentence, Baekhyun pulled him down by the lapels of his graduation gown and crushed their lips together.

The kiss wasn’t soft, nor was it gentle, yet it wasn’t rough or too rushed. The way Baekhyun’s lips fitted over Chanyeol’s was just right. They’re kissing innocently, no tongues or whatsoever and Chanyeol can feel goosebumps appearing on his skin from how sentimental he was starting to feel because of how sweetly they were kissing. Usually whenever they kissed, one or the other was in a hurry, not because they wanted everything to go quickly but because their fast-paced life simply made it difficult for them to find one lazy afternoon lying together on the couch. Now that Chanyeol had graduated, one half of them had more time on his hands. Unable to help himself, Chanyeol’s smiled into the kiss and though his eyes were closed, he could tell that Baekhyun was smiling back. It was perfect.

Pulling away and seeing the carefree look on Baekhyun’s face, Chanyeol knew that he was going to be in love with the other for a long, long time.

But first, he had other things to worry about. He had graduated, meaning he now belonged to that pool of fresh graduates without a job. He _had_ to find a job. As difficult as it may be to find a job that he would like to do in such a saturated market, it was the practical thing to do. What could Chanyeol do as a college graduate with a degree in Design?

Too wrapped up in his own thoughts, he barely heard Baekhyun telling him that he had to return to Camp Half-Blood (how Chanyeol hated that name) for some final training before his test. With a quick peck to his lips, Baekhyun was gone, as if he had just vanished into thin air.

And that was the Demigod whom Chanyeol knew.

~*~

When Chanyeol reached home after celebrating with all of his currently jobless friends (read: Jongdae and Sehun), he found Baekhyun lying on the couch with the television on despite not watching it. Glancing at the screen, Chanyeol’s eyes widened in delight when he saw that it was a re-run of the fifth Harry Potter movie – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was his least favourite movie out of the whole series but it was still a Harry Potter movie which automatically qualified as one of his all-time favourite movies.

Turning back to Baekhyun, Chanyeol confirmed that the other was indeed not paying any attention to the TV screen at all and absently munching on a chocolate bar. He didn’t even seem to realise that Chanyeol had entered through the door otherwise he would have already been chattering incessantly about his day at the Demigod camp and complaining to Chanyeol about Apollo’s children.

A quiet Baekhyun was bad news. An absentminded Baekhyun was even worse.

So Chanyeol did the unthinkable. He walked over to the coffee table with long strides and picked up the remote to turn off the television. Harry Potter disappeared from the screen and Chanyeol had to mentally control himself from turning on the television again. He stood in front of Baekhyun, blocking the other from staring at the blank screen.

Baekhyun spared him a glance before he continued to space out.

Unable to take the silence and how Baekhyun was in such a daze, Chanyeol sighed. “What’s wrong?”

Placing his unfinished chocolate bar onto the table, Baekhyun started to complain. There was the Baekhyun that Chanyeol knew. “What am I going to do – ”

“With your hair?” Chanyeol interrupted, completing Baekhyun’s sentence. “I think you should dye it back to blonde or something. Black makes you look like a good boy.”

“I _am_ a good boy.” Baekhyun faked an offended look and Chanyeol crossed over the table to take a seat beside Aphrodite’s son. “And no, I was about to say ‘what am I going to do about my test later on’?”

“Demigods have tests?” Chanyeol laughed and Baekhyun fixed him with a glare. “Okay, I’m only joking. What test?”

Baekhyun licked his lower lip. “They want to see if I can Charmspeak.”

While Chanyeol was no Demigod, he sure knew a lot about their abilities. For instance, Charmspeak was the ability to influence others with one’s voice and only a few of Aphrodite’s children could do that. If Baekhyun could Charmspeak, then that was…

“Freaking amazing,” Chanyeol said aloud and Baekhyun gave him a weird look.

“I know it’s freaking amazing! That’s why I want to be able to do it. But what if I _can’t_?”

“I have faith in you, Baek,” Chanyeol said easily, not even thinking about the possibility that Baekhyun wouldn’t be able to Charmspeak. Flashing Baekhyun two thumbs-up, Chanyeol winked.

Smiling, Baekhyun leaned on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Thanks. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Nothing at all?” Baekhyun asked, tone inquiring. He had wanted to talk to Chanyeol after the ceremony, especially when he saw that the taller had been contemplating something seriously. But Camp Half-Blood had called and he had to leave. Better late than never though. “Chanyeol?” Baekhyun prodded.

“I don’t know what to do – ”

“With your hair?” Baekhyun cut in, his tone teasing and a small smile playing on his lips even though Chanyeol couldn’t see it.

“No.” Baekhyun could hear the frown in Chanyeol’s voice. “I don’t know what to do – ”

“I know. I know.” Baekhyun lifted his head from Chanyeol’s shoulder and smiled knowingly at the fresh graduate. “You don’t know what to do tonight because you just graduated so you don’t have anything to study for or anymore papers to write. That can be easily resolved!”

Swatting Baekhyun’s hand away from his thigh, Chanyeol grumbled, “actually, I was going to say, ‘I don’t know what to do with my _life_ ‘ because like you said, I just graduated. So currently, I’m one of those unemployed graduates with no goals in life.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Baekhyun lifted Chanyeol’s chin to face him. “Don’t be like that,” he chided kindly, hand falling away. “I have faith in you. I have faith that you’ll find a job soon. And that it’ll be one you love.”

Smiling, Chanyeol nodded appreciatively and placed a quick kiss on Baekhyun’s lips, making the latter smile into the kiss. Eyes flicking over to the conspicuous chocolate bar lying on the table, Chanyeol picked it up, thinking that Baekhyun probably wasn’t going to finish it.

Breaking the kiss, Baekhyun was still smiling happily at Chanyeol like nothing could go wrong. “I think it’s crazy how we always complete each other’s – ”

“Chocolate bars?” Chanyeol interrupted as he took the last bite of the Cadbury bar, smiling at Baekhyun smugly as he chewed noisily, the sound of the bar breaking between his teeth was loud and obnoxious and grating to Baekhyun’s heightened hearing.

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes. “Is that _my_ chocolate bar?”

Still grinning proudly, Chanyeol nodded and Baekhyun growled. It was supposed to sound threatening, Chanyeol guessed, but things didn’t always go as planned and Chanyeol thought that Baekhyun sounded more like a corgi wanting a snack. Except the snack would have been the chocolate bar Chanyeol just finished moments ago, denying the poor corgi its treat.

“What were you saying?” Diverting the topic, Chanyeol smiled brightly at Baekhyun. The chocolate bar was now entirely gone and Baekhyun couldn’t believe it.

“That it’s crazy how we always complete each other’s sentences wrongly.” Baekhyun folded his arms crossly, looking at Chanyeol like the graduate had personally offended him. Technically, Chanyeol had offended him by eating his chocolate.

“I turned Harry Potter away for you.”

Silence.

Then just as quickly as Baekhyun had gotten slightly ticked off, he was smiling again. “You’re forgiven.” He knew how much Harry Potter meant to Park Chanyeol. The movies of course, not The Chosen One.

“Baek?” Chanyeol began sincerely as he took one of Baekhyun’s hands and held it between his own. His eyes are shining with pride as he told Baekhyun, “you’ll be able to Charmspeak. Don’t worry about it and know that I love you.”

Shifting closer to Chanyeol, Baekhyun rested his free hand atop Chanyeol’s. “And you’ll find a job. Don’t worry about it, Yeol and know that I love you too.”

As Baekhyun tilted his head up, Chanyeol’s breath hitched. The Demigod then moved in closer and Chanyeol held his breath. The moment that Baekhyun’s lips were about to touch his, a beeping sound went off, immediately making Baekhyun groan and move back.

Frowning, the Demigod took out his phone from his bag to check the new notification. It was a special ringtone that he had set for emergencies from Camp Half-Blood.

Chanyeol stared at the side profile of the Demigod, of the man he loved so much. He traced the outline of Baekhyun’s face with his eyes, starting from the side of his eye where it crinkled whenever he smiled, to the curve of his nose, and finally the plush shape of his lips. He drunk it all in, smiling giddily to himself as he wondered how lucky he was that he was dating Baekhyun. Technically, they were engaged because Chanyeol had proposed to the Demigod when they had been younger but that was a time that Chanyeol would rather not remember.

He did want to be married to Baekhyun though.

And that could be easily rectified, Chanyeol concluded to himself when a crazy thought flashed across his mind.

Breathing in deep, Chanyeol mentally prepared himself to suggest a very important proposal. He looked away from Baekhyun’s face and locked his fingers together tightly as he stared at them. “So I know it’s crazy and all but I was thinking if we should get – ”

“Married?” Baekhyun said, putting his phone away. It was his turn to look at Chanyeol.

Immediately, Chanyeol whipped his head to face Baekhyun, a sound cracking in the process and Baekhyun wondered if his boyfriend just broke his neck.

Seeing that Chanyeol wasn’t falling to the ground in pain or clutching onto any part of his body, the Demigod guessed that Chanyeol was fine. Though the way Chanyeol was looking at Baekhyun made the latter reconsider his diagnosis.

“You’re asking me to marry you, right?” Baekhyun asked, tentative.

“How did you know?” Chanyeol blurted out, making Baekhyun scoff.

“I could feel you staring at me like you want to spend the rest of your life with me.” Pausing, Baekhyun grinned at Chanyeol. “And maybe you’ve been sleeptalking about Harry Potter and marriage to me.”

“I _do_ want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Baekhyun was about to give an answer but his phone beeped again, making the Demigod groan in frustration as he picked up the device again.

“Emergency? Demigods in Crisis?” Chanyeol joked.

Tongue sticking out, Baekhyun frowned as he read the message. “One of my siblings is causing some chaos at the camp apparently, so I have to go.”

“Doesn’t Aphrodite have way more children than just you?”

“The rest are unreachable,” came Baekhyun’s quick answered as he stood up, eyes still trained on his phone screen. “I’ll be back soon.”

After Baekhyun opened the front door, Chanyeol called out to him. “Baekhyun?”

“Yeah?” Baekhyun was still tying his shoelaces.

“I think it’s crazy how you completed my sentence correctly.”

Standing up, Baekhyun smiled at Chanyeol. “I love you,” he whispered but the room was so silent that Chanyeol could hear the words. Then the Demigod walked out of the house, smiling to himself all the way to Camp Half-Blood and humming a happy tune.

Seconds later, Chanyeol’s phone rang with a message from Baekhyun.

It read: _Because I’ve been thinking about getting married to you too_

~*~

“I’m getting married,” Baekhyun proudly told Kyungsoo after he was done dealing with his pesky little sister who had been luring mortals into the camp with her pretty face. This wasn’t the first time it happened. Many of Aphrodite’s children were fond of using their looks to cheat poor mortals though Baekhyun wasn’t one of them.

Do Kyungsoo, son of Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture, stared at his friend with an expressionless face before shrugging nonchalantly. “Congrats,” he simply said, tone uninterested.

“I remember finding you flowers when you announced your engagement to me.”

“I didn’t forget that I’m not you.”

“Oh, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun drawled.

Looking up, Kyungsoo found that Baekhyun had changed his appearance into Jongin, aka his husband. Glowering at Baekhyun, Kyungsoo raised his hand, making vines appear from the ground and curl around Baekhyun’s feet.

Pouting, Baekhyun altered his physical appearance back to his original face. At the same time, the vines that were wrapped around his feet and cutting off its blood circulation disappeared.

“Who are you getting married to?”

Gasping dramatically, Baekhyun placed a hand on his chest. “Chanyeol. Obviously. Why are you even asking?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you made a few hundred other mortals fall in love with you by accident and you actually have to be accountable to one of them.”

Grimacing, Baekhyun took a seat next to Kyungsoo on the wooden steps of Cabin 4, where Demeter’s children resided. While Kyungsoo didn’t mean anything bad, Baekhyun still felt a jab to his heart. Most of Aphrodite’s children were as Kyungsoo described. No, they weren’t purely evil at heart but having full control over love and desire, that was a powerful thing. If yielded carelessly, Aphrodite’s children could cause the worst heartbreaks, wounds that could never be mended and scars that could never heal. But if used with a purpose and care, what one could gain for it would certainly be rewarding. After all, people reaped what they sowed.

Baekhyun liked to believe that he belonged to the second group. In his whole life, he had only dated one person – a simple mortal man who was devoted to him, heart and soul. Sometimes, Baekhyun would be afraid, scared that he had unwittingly forced Chanyeol to love him with his powers. But he had seen the effects of a person in love under the influence of a spell by his siblings before. It was nothing like how Chanyeol usually acted around him. The pure and unconcealed sincerity shining in Chanyeol’s eyes whenever he told Baekhyun that he loved him was enough to convince Baekhyun that he hadn’t used his powers by accident. Still, he would irrationally be scared, thinking about the ‘what if’. To this date, this was Baekhyun’s biggest fear – using his ability on Chanyeol to make the other love him.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun was convinced of his own feelings. He was in love. Yes, he was. So madly in love with Chanyeol that at times, he felt that this love consumed him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

Grinning at Kyungsoo, Baekhyun shrugged, knowing that his friend really didn’t mean to upset him.

“I’m really happy for you.”

When Baekhyun looked at Kyungsoo, he burst out laughing because the other’s face didn’t have a single bit of joy at all, impassive as he stared back at Baekhyun. “Can’t you smile?” Baekhyun joked, still trying to contain his laughter.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes in annoyance but he flashed Baekhyun a bright smile, which only served to make the other bend over, hugging his stomach as he continued laughing. “Be serious,” Kyungsoo scolded lightly. “What are you going to do now?”

“I have a wedding to plan.”

~*~

“Guess what?”

Narrowing his eyes, Jongdae pointed at Chanyeol suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you already found a job. Because you can’t possibly have found a job before me.”

“Or me,” Sehun quipped.

Ignoring his friend’s insults and lack of faith in him, Chanyeol stood up from the couch to stand in front of his friends who tilted their heads up to look at him. Spreading his arms wide, he announced, “I’m getting married.”

Shell-shocked, his two friends remained silent, glancing at each other for a moment before training their eyes on Chanyeol who was grinning back at them with absolute delight on his face. Then they both started cheering, jumping up from the couch to pat Chanyeol on the back. Sehun pulled Chanyeol into a headlock as Jongdae ruffled his hair.

“I can’t believe you’re the first to get married either!” Jongdae exclaimed and Sehun agreed enthusiastically. A bit too enthusiastically.

Frowning, Chanyeol pushed his friends off. “What’s that supposed to mean? The two of you aren’t even _dating_.”

“He has a point,” Sehun whispered to Jongdae who nodded thoughtfully. “Regardless. We’re happy for you.”

“Don’t speak for me,” Jongdae scolded the youngest of the three. Then he smiled at Chanyeol. “So happy for you, my friend.”

Scrunching up his nose, Chanyeol stared at Jongdae weirdly, then at Sehun. “I’m not used to you guys being all sentimental.”

Simultaneously grinning, Jongdae and Sehun threw their arms across Chanyeol’s shoulder and guided him back to the couch.

“So what are you going to do for the wedding?”

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol answered. He didn’t have time to think about it yet. “I haven’t discussed it with Baekhyun.”

“Don’t lie. We all know that you want to get married in the Great Hall,” Sehun pointed out, high-fiving Jongdae who was sitting on Chanyeol’s other side.

Unable to help himself, Chanyeol started smiling. Sehun was right – he didn’t really have to think about it. But that didn’t mean that he did not have to consult Baekhyun on the proposition first. After all, marriage was a union between two people. He couldn’t be the one making all the decisions.

Chanyeol’s phone rang but Jongdae continued talking about how they could turn the wedding venue into the Great Hall, making Chanyeol grin at the suggestion and flash his friend a thumbs-up as he checked his phone. It was a message from Baekhyun.

_“Come to Camp Half-Blood now!!”_

Without thinking, Chanyeol replied, _“okay”_.

Trying to peer at Chanyeol’s phone, Jongdae asked, “what did Baekhyun say?”

Pulling his phone to his chest to hide the screen, Chanyeol glared at Jongdae. “How are you so sure that it was Baekhyun?”

“Because you only text three people besides your family. Me, Sehun, and Baekhyun. It can’t be me or Sehun cause we’re here and it can’t be your family, so it’s definitely Baekhyun.”

“And why can’t it be my family?” Chanyeol deadpanned.

“What Jongdae meant was,” Sehun began, pausing to sigh dramatically. “That you had an extremely stupid smile on your face that screamed ‘Baekhyun just sent me text’.”

“I did not!” Chanyeol denied vehemently, shaking his head. “Anyway, I got to go find Baekhyun.”

“At that cool Demigod place?” Sehun asked and Chanyeol nodded, standing from the couch.

“See you guys later.”

“Congrats!” Jongdae shouted when Chanyeol opened the door.

“We love you!” Sehun continued, earning a loud chuckle from Chanyeol.

Walking out of the house, Chanyeol closed the door behind him gently, not wanting to create any unnecessary noise. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Chanyeol smiled when his right hand came into contact with a small box that he had had with him for a while now.

~*~

Camp Half-Blood was still as intimidating as the first time Chanyeol had visited the place. The entrance had a tall arch in place, two tall white pillars holding up the weight of the plague which had its name written on it. Vines wrapped around the pillars in a random fashion yet they looked anything but messy. Beyond the archway, Chanyeol could see a few Demigods training.

“Hello, handsome.”

Turning to the voice, Chanyeol noticed that it was a beautiful girl talking to him and he found himself momentarily stunned by her beauty.

“You’re here for Baekhyun, right? I’m his sister.”

One of Aphrodite’s children. Of course, she was.

Chanyeol nodded and she sent him a small, flirty smile before beckoning Chanyeol to follow her and he did.

As he walked past the grounds of the camp, he wondered why Baekhyun couldn’t pick him up instead of sending one of his siblings. As Chanyeol wasn’t a Demigod, he couldn’t enter the camp unless someone guided him to the place and then allowed him in. Baekhyun had been guiding him so the Demigod should have known when Chanyeol had reached the archway. Yet he hadn’t come out to fetch Chanyeol on his own.

Weird.

“Chanyeol!”

It was Baekhyun. Chanyeol smiled.

Opening his mouth, Chanyeol was about to thank the girl for bringing him into the camp only to realise that she was already gone.

“Rose didn’t do anything, did she?” Baekhyun narrowed his eyes as he pointed at Chanyeol.

Chuckling, Chanyeol walked over to the Demigod and placed his hands on his shoulders before leaning down to give Baekhyun a quick kiss. “I didn’t even know her name so no, she didn’t do anything.”

“Good.”

“Wait,” Chanyeol said quickly, making Baekhyun scowl at him. “She didn’t do anything except calling me handsome.”

“You are handsome,” came Baekhyun’s immediate response, puzzled as to why Chanyeol would think that Rose was making a move on him when she was simply stating a fact.

Embarrassed, Chanyeol lifted a hand to cover his increasingly reddening face and kept his hand there until Baekhyun poked his side.

“So, why did you call me here?” Chanyeol asked, trying to act all nonchalant and cool for no reason other than he wanted to, but ended up smiling idiotically instead because he just couldn’t get over Baekhyun’s compliment.

Unaware of what was going on in Chanyeol’s mind, Baekhyun played with the stalk of rose in his hand. “I wanted to make an announcement about our wedding to everyone here and I wanted to do it together.” Plucking a petal, Baekhyun stared at it before letting it go, allowing the wind to carry it until it could no longer hold its weight. “It’s kind of a big thing when one of us gets married, especially to a non-Olympian.”

“Oh yeah?” Grinning, Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hands, the stem of the rose cold against their palms. “And why is that so?”

Smiling at Chanyeol, Baekhyun started to lightly swing their hands. “It’s not easy to date a Demigod.”

“I would know.”

“We had to spend weeks, months, sometimes even years apart because I was in the camp a lot when I was younger. And the fact that we’re still getting married? Isn’t it the truest and strongest symbol of love? It’s not a big thing because the Gods say so. It’s a big thing because everyone can see how in love we are with one another and even Demigods get envious.”

“You make everything sound romantic, don’t you?” Chanyeol teased, amusement twinkling bright in his round eyes.

Rolling his eyes affectionately, Baekhyun let go of one of Chanyeol’s hands before pulling him to another part of the camp.

Stopping around the middle area, Baekhyun grinned at Chanyeol before looking to the front. “I have something to announce!” His voice boomed throughout the square, gathering the attention of the other Demigods.

As the other Olympians started to gather around Baekhyun and Chanyeol, the Demigod was starting to feel nervous. As if Chanyeol could sense his anxiety, he quickly took Baekhyun’s hand into his own, smiling at Aphrodite’s son sweetly when he turned to look at him in surprise.

“Before Baekhyun makes the announcement, I have something to say first,” Chanyeol said boldly, making Baekhyun’s face turn into one of confusion.

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked.

Slowly, Chanyeol’s hand slipped from Baekhyun’s and slowly, he got down on one knee, all the while smiling at Baekhyun. A few gasps and ‘aww’s sounded from the crowd as Baekhyun felt his jaw drop. Reaching for his pocket, Chanyeol pulled out something, making Baekhyun gasp audibly. In Chanyeol’s hand was an opened velvety maroon box, revealing a ring inside. The ring was beautiful – carved edges all around, making it look like silver vines were intertwined with one another and small diamonds were embedded on the top.

“Will you marry me?” Chanyeol’s voice was soft but audible enough for Baekhyun to hear. Only enough for Baekhyun to hear. No one else needed to hear it anyway since it was meant for Baekhyun. His actions were also obvious to the onlookers to know what was going on.

“Yes!” Baekhyun shouted instantly, not needing to think twice, pulling Chanyeol up and throwing his arms around the taller. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you!”

The crowd surrounding them all started cheering. Wolf-whistles and all that.

_“Silencio,”_ Chanyeol thought in his heart and laughed at himself when no one quietened down. Yet when Baekhyun started to speak, it was only the Demigod’s voice that Chanyeol could hear, drowning out the rest of the noise.

“When did you get this?” Baekhyun gushed, still not letting go of Chanyeol.

“You didn’t really think that I was going to propose to you without a ring, right?”

“I didn’t even ask for a proposal!”

Pushing Baekhyun back slightly, Chanyeol cupped the Demigod’s face. “You didn’t ask for me either, did you?”

Grinning widely, Baekhyun pushed Chanyeol’s hands off and pulled him in by his shirt to crash their lips together, making the Olympians cheer even louder. Such voyeurs, all of them.

Smiling into the kiss, Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol closer and closer, until their bodies were pressed against one another.

~*~

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called softly.

Chanyeol looked at him, confused as to why Baekhyun was hiding in the bushes in the middle of a celebration. He got off the ground and dusted his pants as he walked over to where Baekhyun was. “What are you doing?”

Without saying anything, Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol’s hand and pulled him through the bush, ignoring the mortal’s loud ‘oof’ as he fell through the leaves. Once Chanyeol regained his balance, Baekhyun started to drag him over to one of the cabins.

“Why are you escaping from _your_ engagement party?”

Again, Baekhyun didn’t give an answer, smiling to himself, high from the happiness coursing through his veins. He stopped in front of Cabin 10 – Aphrodite’s Cabin, and pushed open the door, pulling Chanyeol in. As soon as the door shut, Baekhyun released Chanyeol’s hand and spun around to face the mortal.

“I wanted to be alone with you,” Baekhyun whispered lowly, pulling Chanyeol nearer to him by the latter’s belt hoops.

Smirking, Chanyeol leaned down until their faces were mere centimetres apart. “You have me now.”

Baekhyun started to walk backwards until he fell onto his bed and Chanyeol falling on top of him. Luckily for the Demigod, Chanyeol reacted quickly and braced himself in time, placing his hands on either side of Baekhyun’s head so that he was encaging the smaller male. The pastel blue and green sheets from the bed seemed brighter than usual because of Baekhyun’s black hair.

“I can Charmspeak,” Baekhyun said softly, a small smile appearing on his face.

“Yeah?” Excitement coated Chanyeol’s voice. “Want to test that out?”

Sucking on his lower lip, Baekhyun pondered over Chanyeol’s suggestion before breathing the words out softly, “kiss me.”

Smirking, Chanyeol leaned down and captured Baekhyun’s lips.

It started out slow, intense, none of that rush and adrenaline like the kiss they had in front of the crowd. This was milder, more contained, their lips fitting perfectly against one another, Baekhyun’s mouth opening easily for Chanyeol’s tongue to slot against his.

“Mm,” Chanyeol hummed, a pleasant wave of tingle running down his spine as they break the kiss. “I’ll tell you to kiss me again but I don’t have a spell for that.”

Laughing out loud, Baekhyun’s eyes crinkled as he tried to fight back tears of mirth from spilling. “You’re not a wizard.”

“There’s a spell to put you to sleep but I don’t know the incantation for that because J.K. Rowling never mentioned it.”

“I would kiss you, regardless. Spell or no spell,” Baekhyun whispered lovingly, cupping Chanyeol’s face. “Anyway, you want me to show you the spell to put someone to sleep?” <

Humming in contemplation, Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun who had a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said lowly. “Sleep.”

In no longer than three seconds, Chanyeol’s hands gave way and he fell onto Baekhyun, making the Demigod cough from the impact.

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun called, shaking the other. “Chanyeol?” He pushed the mortal off and sat up before looking at his lover who was currently fast asleep. “Hello?” Bringing his hand to Chanyeol’s face, he slapped it a few times but Chanyeol remained in deep sleep. “Crap.”

He still had to learn how to control his newfound ability. Maybe testing it on his boyfriend, no, _fiancé_ so soon was a bad idea. Groaning, Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol, thinking that it was the other’s fault because he was the one who suggested that Baekhyun test it out in the first place. This was definitely Chanyeol’s fault. Baekhyun didn’t even know how strong its effects were yet and now he didn’t know how long Chanyeol would be asleep. And it was all Chanyeol’s own fault.

Climbing off the bed, Baekhyun spared Chanyeol one more glance before exiting the cabin, deciding to let the other sleep until the effects of his Charmspeak wore off. It shouldn’t be too long. Baekhyun wasn’t that powerful, right?

~*~

“Chanyeol’s asleep,” Baekhyun casually announced as he reached Kyungsoo’s side and sat on the log next to the son of Demeter.

Making a face of disgust at Baekhyun, Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes. “You guys didn’t have sex in the cabin, right? Because other people stay there too you know.”

“No. I um…” Eyes shifting, Baekhyun wondered how he should explain what he had done to Kyungsoo. “I kind of used my Charmspeak on him by accident and I told him to sleep…”

“You’re an idiot.”

“So now I’m waiting for him to wake up so that we can go home.”

A comfortable silence was starting to settle between them but Baekhyun broke it. Kyungsoo wasn’t even surprised. But he sure wasn’t expecting to give the other marriage counselling.

“I can’t wait to get married to Chanyeol!” Sighing wistfully, Baekhyun rested his palms on the wood, leaning back and tilting his head to the sky. There weren’t many stars that night so all Baekhyun could see was a vast expanse of blackness.

Kyungsoo nodded for the sake of it, not really listening to Baekhyun’s words.

“I can already picture it.” Baekhyun closed his eyes. “There’ll be dolphins and roses.”

“Dolphins?” Kyungsoo looked up from tying his shoelaces to look at Aphrodite’s son in confusion.

“Or should we use a dove as our wedding’s symbol instead? How about a swan?” Baekhyun chuckled to himself before looking at Kyungsoo. “Just any of the most beautiful animals would be fine.”

“Symbol?”

“Aphrodite’s symbol?” Baekhyun explained, rolling his eyes when Kyungsoo continued staring at him with puzzlement. “For my wedding?” Kyungsoo stared at him blankly. “Forget it. You forget everything now that you’re married.” Waving his hand, Baekhyun easily brushed Kyungsoo’s unhelpfulness aside. “And then Chanyeol will have to give me seashells and roses and pearls. Aphrodite’s symbols are the most romantic, really. What did Jongin give you, again?”

“Poppies and Emerald.”

Nodding, Baekhyun continued asking Kyungsoo questions about his wedding. “And you gave him?”

“Hyacinths and laurels.”

Grumbling incoherently, Baekhyun said, “right. Son of Apollo. I almost forgot.” There was this childish rivalry going on between Aphrodite’s and Apollo’s children. While there wasn’t any direct conflict with the Goddess and the God, their offsprings had somehow managed to wage a petty war against one another over who looked better. “We’ll get married in April because it’s Aphrodite’s favourite month and I like it too and spring is honestly the best month to get married in. Didn’t you get married in spring as well?”

“Baekhyun.”

“And then we’ll – ”

“Baek.”

“What?” Baekhyun asked, irritation crystal clear in his tone.

“Chanyeol’s human.”

“So? What has that got to do with…” Realisation dawned on Baekhyun. “They’re not his traditions.”

“You should talk to him.”

“There you are,” a new but familiar voice joined the conversation.

Spinning around, Baekhyun found Chanyeol walking towards him with a tired smile.

“Let’s go home?”

~*~

Upon reaching home, Baekhyun immediately thought about telling Chanyeol all his traditions and how a Demigod is supposed to get married.

“I can’t believe that you actually put me to sleep,” Chanyeol complained as soon as they stepped into the house.

“Sorry about that.” Smiling at Chanyeol sheepishly, Baekhyun said in an apologetic tone. He was truly sorry about it. But then again, if he hadn’t done it by accident, then he wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to talk to Kyungsoo about his wedding and how he should bring it up to Chanyeol.

“Baekhyun?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Baekhyun saw that Chanyeol was frowning worriedly at him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Pressing his lips together, Baekhyun told himself to be brave. “About our wedding theme.”

“Great!” Chanyeol said with more enthusiasm than Baekhyun had expected. “I wanted to talk about it too. But you go first.”

“Can we get married in spring?” Baekhyun started, cautious about which questions or suggestions he should ask or make first. After Chanyeol nodded easily, it spurred Baekhyun on. “Also, there are things that you’ll have to give me every day for a month before the wedding.”

“You mean besides my love?” Chanyeol joked and Baekhyun bit back a smile.

“Besides your love.” Playing along, Baekhyun teased. “Roses, seashells, and pearls,” Baekhyun listed the items, the last one making Chanyeol frown.

“Pearls? I can’t afford pearls every day for a month!”

“They don’t have to be big or real,” Baekhyun reassured him quickly. “Just tiny ones. Really insignificant ones. It’s the gesture that counts, not the quality of the items.”

The quality _did_ count but Chanyeol was no Demigod and forcing all this upon him was too much so Baekhyun figured to twist that part a little. When Baekhyun had been younger, all he could think about was having a traditional Demigod wedding ceremony because of how pretty the venue always looked and how romantic the tales always sounded. As Baekhyun had grown older, he had slowly realised that tales would forever remain tales and that reality was nowhere half as sentimental. Still, Baekhyun had always been one to uphold tradition.

Shoulders deflating, Chanyeol pouted. “But – ”

“Wait.” Raising his hands, Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol sincerely. “Calm down. Let me finish first. These are all my traditions. Every Demigod does their wedding like that when they get married. We’ll have to get married in Olympus. And there will be a ceremony but the place has to be decorated according to the Goddess or the God who is your parent. Usually since Demigods marry one another, they’ll have to infuse their own parent’s symbol with their fiancé’s but for me, it’s easy. We can just use Aphrodite’s symbol, which is a dolphin. There won’t be any wedding vows so no ‘till death do us part’ and all that _but_ ,” he quickly added when he saw Chanyeol’s face turning darker and darker by the second. “We have speeches in place of that. _υπόσχεση_ (ypóschesi) in Greek. It’s like a promise we make to the other, so it’s like a vow but not really. It’s simpler. It’s more like an oath which is kind of like a vow, you see.” Baekhyun’s rambling but he couldn’t really be bothered as long as he got his point across without sounding like he was imposing all of his traditions onto Chanyeol.

When Chanyeol continued scowling at Baekhyun, clearly being disagreeable, Baekhyun winced softly.

“The traditions aren’t that strict,” the Demigod assured Chanyeol quickly, lying again for his mortal lover. They were all simple white lies. No one would be hurt. In fact, Baekhyun deeply hoped that his lies could save the situation.

When Chanyeol didn’t say anything, Baekhyun started to grow worried. He tentatively placed his hand on Chanyeol’s arm, willing the latter to say something, anything to let him know that they were still going through with this wedding and that a few Demigod wedding traditions didn’t mean much and that he could put up with them.

Chanyeol did answer him. But it didn’t quell any of his worries.

“How about turning the venue into the Great Hall? We can have the dolphin and all but Harry Potter style.”

Blinking at Chanyeol, Baekhyun started to smile. Then he laughed, incredulous, certain that Chanyeol was just fooling around. “What?”

“The Great Hall. We can turn _our_ wedding venue into the Great Hall and hang red and gold banners all around because you know, house pride.” Shrugging, Chanyeol smirked at the end, nodding to himself, liking the way his words sounded.

“What.”

“The Great Hall.”

“I know what the Great Hall is!” Baekhyun snapped impatiently. Years of watching Harry Potter with Chanyeol had taught Baekhyun many things about the entire franchise. Clearing his throat, Baekhyun nodded. “We can…work around this. Like I said – ” Gulping, Baekhyun licked his dry lips. “The traditions aren’t that strict. We can find some common ground and work from there.”

“I guess we can.” Then Chanyeol came up with the most ridiculous suggestion yet. “If you really want a symbol, then a lion would be fitting.”

“Lion,” Baekhyun deadpanned. “You mean the one from Gryffindor?”

“If not, the zoo?”

Baekhyun scowled as Chanyeol sniggered at his own joke. It was funny. But Baekhyun wouldn’t give Chanyeol the satisfaction of knowing how easily Chanyeol could still tickle him even when they were supposed to be in the midst of an argument.

“As for the flowers, can we use roses?” Baekhyun asked as politely as he could, batting his eyelashes coy.

Nodding, Chanyeol ignored his request and his pretty fluttering eyelashes and continued with his proposition. “I think roses are too common, so let’s go for hydrangeas.”  
“Common?”

“Yes, roses are common.”

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun growled threateningly but when the other only looked back at him with a face free of guilt, he threw his hands up in frustration. “Why can’t you understand how important all this is to me?” Baekhyun shouted. “They’re my traditions!”

“I have my traditions too!” Chanyeol argued back immediately.

“What traditions?!” The next few words left Baekhyun’s mouth before the Demigod could even process what he was saying. “Have you gotten married before?!”

Baekhyun’s words managed to shut Chanyeol up because no, there wasn’t any previous marriage that Baekhyun needed to know about. There weren’t any past marriages before, period. So Chanyeol just stared fiercely at Baekhyun with his mouth pressed into a stern line, fire in his eyes.

“You haven’t, right?” Baekhyun asked in a hesitant tone. His eyes held uncertainty.

Quickly shaking his head, Chanyeol’s whole ‘I’m a tough guy who won’t back down’ facade fell as he grabbed hold of Baekhyun’s hands.

“You’re my first. And you’ll be my last,” Chanyeol said softly as he brought one of his hands up to cup Baekhyun’s left cheek.

“Yeol...” Eyes softening, Baekhyun covered Chanyeol’s hand on his face. “I – “ he stopped himself when he saw a frown suddenly on Chanyeol’s face. “What?”

“I was saving that for my wedding vows.”

Silence settled between them. Laughing sarcastically, Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol’s hand off his face and dropped it, letting it dangle by Chanyeol’s side as he looked at Baekhyun with confusion written all over his face. Then he pouted at the taller.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whined. “Please.”

“I’m a Gryffindor, Baek.”

Perplexed, Baekhyun furrowed his brows. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

There was a smug smile on Chanyeol’s face that was rubbing Baekhyun off the wrong way. Usually, Baekhyun appreciated Chanyeol’s smirks, especially if they were directed at him. But the one that the giant was currently sporting on his face was the type that Baekhyun grew annoyed at because it was Chanyeol’s way of expressing how he had the upper hand in their conversation and Baekhyun never ever lost before.

“That means I’m resilient.” Leaning forward, Chanyeol met Baekhyun’s eyes. “And I’m also very convincing,” he added in a low voice.

But Baekhyun wasn’t amused. “You’re sleeping on the couch tonight, Chanyeol.”

Struggling over things to say, Chanyeol let out a few undignified sounds and unintelligible words as Baekhyun pushed him out of their bedroom and slammed the door on his face. Before he could start protesting, he heard a click behind the door - the telltale sign that it was now locked.

“Byun!” Chanyeol growled.

“Go away, Potter!” Baekhyun shouted back from inside the room.

“I’m not a Potter or that’ll make you Baekhyun Potter!”

“Well, you sound more like you want to be a part of Harry Potter’s family tree than wanting to marry me right now!”

“You’re being ridiculous!”

“Shut up!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

Then Chanyeol heard another click and he turned the knob to push open the door. The moment he walked into the room, he found Baekhyun all bundled up in their blanket. Smiling, he slowly walked over to the bed and sat down, easily prying the blanket away from Baekhyun’s hands.

Sighing, Baekhyun allowed Chanyeol to slip in next to him. Turning to his side, he looked at the other with a serious expression. “Maybe we should postpone the wedding?”

“Well, we haven’t set a date yet.”

“You didn’t brush your teeth. Or change your clothes.” Baekhyun abruptly changed the topic.

Scoffing, Chanyeol shifted closer to the Demigod. “Neither did you.”

Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s torso. “I’m keeping my surname.”

~*~

“I don’t know if Chanyeol really wants to get married, Soo.”

Without giving Baekhyun an answer, Kyungsoo suspiciously squinted his eyes at his friend. “I thought the both of you were all about ‘till death do us part’.”

Gritting his teeth, Baekhyun glared at Kyungsoo. “There won’t be any wedding vows!” he hissed.

“But Chanyeol’s human.”

Ignoring Kyungsoo, Baekhyun sighed melancholically. “Maybe it’d be easier if I got married to another Demigod instead.”

“Not gonna be easier,” Kyungsoo instantly replied. “Remember mine and Jongin’s wedding? My mom and his dad really don’t get along. We had to make so many compromises.”

“Is that what it’s about then?” Baekhyun asked dejectedly. “Compromises? Because I don’t think I can.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “You haven’t even tried. You’re only saying this now because you’re paranoid, bitter, and nervous. Did I already say paranoid?” Baekhyun fixed him a look. “And when you’re like this, saying things you don’t mean is what you’re best at.”

Shoulders deflating, Baekhyun stopped pacing in front of Demeter’s Son and sat next to him on the couch instead. “What do I do?” he moaned.

“For starters, why don’t you go home?”

~*~

“I think Baekhyun’s might call off the wedding,” Chanyeol announced to Jongdae and Sehun.

“What?” Jongdae asked worriedly the same time Sehun asked, “why?”

Then at the same time, both of his friends asked, “what did you do?”

Chanyeol stared at his two friends in dismay, throwing his hands up in disbelief. “Nothing!”

The door opened just then and Baekhyun walked into the living. He looked surprised at Jongdae and Sehun’s presence but it was gone in a flash and he was looking at Chanyeol guiltily.

“And that’s our cue to go.”

Grabbing Sehun’s hand, Jongdae flashes Baekhyun a toothy grin. “What he means is that we’re going to eat supper because we booked a place so, ta-ta.”

Once Jongdae and Sehun made themselves scarce, the room fell to an awkward silence.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun and Chanyeol blurted out simultaneously.

Mouth cracking into a smile, Baekhyun lifted his head for a moment before he was looking at Chanyeol again. “Hi.”

“Hey babe,” Chanyeol greeted, one side of his lips quirking upwards.

Staring at Chanyeol for a few seconds, Baekhyun sighed and walked past him, towards the toilet. He could see how Chanyeol’s shoulders slump when he ignored him but he didn’t know what to say to the other. Maybe a shower could freshen him up.

After he was done washing up, he changed into one of Chanyeol’s old hoodies and his own track pants before going out into the living room and found that Chanyeol was still sitting there. He figured that the other would have gone into their room by now since he even wasted extra time blow-drying his hair in the toilet.

“You’re still up?”

Startled by Baekhyun’s voice, Chanyeol jumped a little, making Baekhyun snigger.

Standing up, Chanyeol crossed over to Baekhyun and took him by his hand, leading the Demigod to their shared room before guiding him to the bed.

He hovered over Baekhyun as the latter looked up at him with stars in his eyes. “You know that I love you, right?” Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s nose before moving his face down so that their noses were touching. “I’d do almost anything to make you happy.”

Tilting his head sideways, Baekhyun briefly kissed Chanyeol on the lips. “We’ll discuss our wedding tomorrow, okay?”

Pulling away, Chanyeol smiled down at his Demigod. “Okay.”

~*~

“So, tell me about your customs again,” Chanyeol asked over breakfast.

Taking a mouthful of cereal, Baekhyun racked his brain for the simplest and most logical way to explain everything to Chanyeol. Though honestly, he thought that that he had already done a pretty good job at telling Chanyeol what the traditions were.

“Well,” he began after swallowing and placed his spoon down before intertwining his fingers together. “The theme colour should be white, which I think is pretty conventional? Even among mortals?” Shifting his chair a little closer to the table, Baekhyun observed Chanyeol for a reaction. When the other simply nodded, Baekhyun took it as a sign to keep going. “As for the flowers decorating the venue, roses are Aphrodite’s flowers and as Son of Aphrodite, I should have those at my wedding too. Roses are still pretty normal, right?”

_“Common,”_ a voice in Baekhyun’s head reminded him and he scowled.

But Chanyeol only nodded again.

Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun sat up straighter. “Now I’m going to talk about the traditions part. I don’t think normal weddings here have…” Sucking on his lower lip, Baekhyun tried finding the most appropriate word to use and ended up with, “a symbol?”, simply reusing his word from the other night.

It was the first time Chanyeol didn’t nod. Instead, he was now looking at Baekhyun with a raised brow. “Dolphins, was it?”

Breaking into a smile, Baekhyun’s shoulders relaxed. “Yeah. Dolphins.” Slouching further into his seat, Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol lovingly. “You remembered.”

Grinning, Chanyeol gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. “Anything else? Like the vows…” his voice trailed off at the end as he looked down at his bowl and he resumed eating his cereals.

“Right. The vows.” Tensing again, Baekhyun subconsciously leaned forward. “There won’t be any wedding vows. It’s more like a straightforward promise. It’s something that everyone says to their partners.” Inhaling, Baekhyun recited the simple oath from memory, “In heaven, on earth, and even in hell, we won’t part. Our souls are bound to each other’s heart. This gift of eternity I promise you will allow the flames of love to always renew.” Giving Chanyeol a hesitant smile, he asked, “easy, right?”

“I guess.” Chanyeol said with a shrug. “Not really romantic though.”

Smile wavering, Baekhyun sighed. Deep down, he agreed with Chanyeol but he didn’t want anyone accusing him of disregarding customs. It wasn’t even normal for a Demigod to marry a mortal in the first place so ignoring traditions would just add on to Baekhyun’s list of eccentricities. More than that, Baekhyun was certain that the other Demigods would have one or two negative things to say about Chanyeol.

“Your turn!” Baekhyun chirped, genuinely excited to hear what Chanyeol wanted for their wedding. It was a two-way thing after all.

Rolling his shoulders back, Chanyeol placed his spoon down. “If there’s a theme colour, I’d like it to be red and gold for obvious reasons.” Looking to Baekhyun for affirmation, he smiled slightly when the Demigod nodded earnestly.

Baekhyun’s brows were furrowed in concentration and he was looking at Chanyeol way too seriously, being as attentive as possible to every word the other was going to say.

“If we’re gonna have a symbol, then I want a lion. For obvious reasons again.” It took Baekhyun a while longer than before to nod. “When do you want to get married again? Because I’d like to turn the venue into the Great Hall, something like the Yule Ball’s setting, you know? But that’s in December and we’re holding the wedding in Olympus, right?”

“Olympus,” Baekhyun repeated, heart swelling at how Chanyeol was already giving in to him. “The Yule Ball is pretty.” Continuously nodding, Baekhyun pondered over Chanyeol’s suggestions and wondered what sort of compromises he could make on his part. “Chanyeol,” he started. “I’m okay with the venue decoration with the tables and all and a live band to make it look like the Yule Ball but gold…gold is Athena’s colour and she’s the goddess of War.”

“And Wisdom,” Chanyeol added on quickly. “I know my Greek Goddesses and Gods.”

“And red is kind of symbolic for blood, don’t you think so?” Baekhyun added in a placating tone, hoping that Chanyeol could understand where he was coming from. “As for the lions, they’re like the kings of the jungle and quite…aggressive creatures too. People might think that you’re getting married to the Son of Athena instead.” He let out a laugh, cutting it short when he realised that Chanyeol wasn’t laughing along with him.

“Are all Demigods really as judge-y as you?”

Fixing Chanyeol with a pointed look, Baekhyun crossed his arms. “I’m not judge-y.”

Brows etching together, Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a concerned look which made the Demigod burst out laughing.

“Since when have I ever judged you?”

“Oh, plenty,” Chanyeol answered, faking a look of indifference but the sides of his lips twitching easily gave him away. “Though I’m still glad that I’m me when I see the way you judge other people.”

Licking his lips, Baekhyun grinned back proudly.

“But seriously, are the other Demigods that judge-y?”

“You know they are…” Sucking on his lower lip, Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, realising that there was one more thing that they hadn’t agreed on. Not like they were remotely close to compromising on the other things but at least they were all already out on the table. “You have no issues with the roses, right?”

“I was thinking more of Hydrangeas.”

“Oh.”

It was the same conversation repeating in a calmer way. But at least they weren’t locking each other out of the bedroom now. (At least Baekhyun wasn’t.)

Chanyeol gestured to Baekhyun’s bowl which was still half full. “You done with that?”

Looking down, Baekhyun picked up his spoon and continued eating. “I don’t have to go to the Camp until later in the day so I’ll take my time with this.” Flashing Chanyeol a smile, Baekhyun belatedly noted that the other was dressed smartly in a suit. “Job-hunting?”

“Interview then job-hunting,” Chanyeol corrected as he cleared his plate and washed it in the sink before placing it on the drying rack. He walked back to the dining table and checked his phone for the time then nodded to himself. “I’m going now.”

“Good luck.”

On his way to the door, Chanyeol stopped beside Baekhyun to lean down and press a kiss to the latter’s temple. “I love you, babe.”

“Love you too, sunshine,” Baekhyun replied with a cheeky smile on his face and Chanyeol rolled his eyes fondly.

With one last peck to Baekhyun’s lips, Chanyeol left the house. The door shuts and Baekhyun immediately sighed, dropping the spoon in his hand. Rubbing his face tiredly, he mulled over their short discussion about the wedding theme.

It wasn’t anything too serious and he was sure that they could find a way to work it out but he was nervous. So nervous.

Letting his hands fall to the table, he tried not to think too much about all the possible complications they might face, choosing to focus on the memory when he first called Chanyeol ‘sunshine’ instead.

_“Wake up, Baek.”_

_Murmuring in his sleep, Baekhyun threw his arm over his face, clearly not wanting anyone to interrupt his sleep._

_“Baekhyun, wake up. You won’t regret this, I promise!” Chanyeol tugged insistently on Baekhyun’s arm, receiving groans of protests in return._

_“If you wake me up, **you’re** going to regret it, I promise,” Baekhyun growled when his hand was successfully pried away. He opened his eyes, wanting to glare at Chanyeol to show the other that he wasn’t joking but the words were lost on his lips when the first thing he saw was Chanyeol’s face hovering above him, the sunlight behind his head casting an ethereal glow around his face and Baekhyun has forgotten how to breathe._

_“Morning,” Chanyeol greeted, all handsome and toothy grin even with a leaf stuck in his hair._

_“Morning…” Baekhyun mumbled sleepily, trying to stifle a yawn. Sitting up, the blanket that was covering him slipped down a little, making him shiver at the wind that just bristled past his naked shoulder. Pulling the blanket back up, Baekhyun wrapped himself, blushing at the thought of what happened last night._

_“Nothing I haven’t seen,” came Chanyeol’s teasing voice and Baekhyun pouted at him. “Look around.”_

_Quickly getting over his embarrassment, Baekhyun did as told and gasped when he saw just how beautiful the place looked._

_They were in the middle of the woods, and the trees surrounding them were all set aglow from the rising sun, casting soft shadows over the tent they had set up and on the leafy ground where they were lying on top of a mat. Sucking in his breath, the corners of Baekhyun’s lips stretched wider as he drunk in the sight of everything._

_“Beautiful, huh?” Chanyeol had his arms loosely around Baekhyun’s waist and he pressed a kiss to the Demigod’s shoulder, making him shudder at the intimate gesture._

_Holding Chanyeol’s face, Baekhyun grinned widely. “I love you, sunshine.”_

_Chanyeol pulled back, the sides of his lips quirked upwards. “Sunshine?”_

_Turning away, abashed, Baekhyun laughed as he dropped his hands from Chanyeol’s and brushed his hair away from his eyes. “It just came out. Sorry.”_

_“Sunshine,” Chanyeol repeated as he cupped Baekhyun’s face to make the Demigod face him again. “I like that.”_

  


A smile settled on Baekhyun’s face. “I like that too.”

~*~

“Hey you,” Baekhyun called out when Chanyeol walked into the living room. “How was job-hunting?”

“Fun,” Chanyeol replied dryly before walking into the kitchen to get a glass of water and Baekhyun went back to reading his magazine.

When Chanyeol walked back out, Baekhyun automatically sat up to make space for the other.

After sitting down, Chanyeol immediately rested his head against Baekhyun’s shoulder. “I missed you, babe.”

“What’s wrong?” Baekhyun’s hand came up to the back of Chanyeol’s head.

“Looking for a job isn’t fun at all.”

Chuckling, Baekhyun brought Chanyeol’s head closer. He could sense Chanyeol pouting and as much as he would like to take a look at it, he was more interested in comforting the other first. “I got that much.”

“I’ve been thinking too.”

“About?” Using his finger, Baekhyun started to trace patterns on Chanyeol’s knees with his free hand.

“About this morning…” Chanyeol started softly and Baekhyun stopped his ministration, slowly removing his hand to allow Chanyeol to sit upright.

“What about it?” Baekhyun tried sounding casual, heart thumping faster by the second as he watched Chanyeol scratch the back of his head. Looking away from Chanyeol, Baekhyun tried to calm his breathing. It was a jittery feeling that he had never felt before and that could only mean one thing. Damn wedding nerves. Everything was making his stomach coil at the potential prospect of something awful happening.

“Roses are fine,” Chanyeol finally said, shrugging nonchalantly, turning away just as Baekhyun turned to face him.

The shorter man stared at Chanyeol’s side profile as his heart fluttered. Did he hear correctly?

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called out gently.

Chanyeol had an arm covering his eyes, clearly exhausted from all the job-hunting he had been doing all day. “Hm?”

“Red and gold are fine too.”

Not removing his arm over his eyes, Chanyeol used his other hand to pat Baekhyun’s knee gently. Taking Chanyeol’s hand into his own, Baekhyun held onto it tightly, squeezing it once and Chanyeol finally moved his arm away to look at Baekhyun tenderly. Smiling, Chanyeol lifted their joint hands and brought Baekhyun’s hand to his lips to place a kiss to the knuckles.

“I can’t wait to marry you.”

“Me too,” Baekhyun answered honestly.

“There’s one more thing we can agree on.”

Looking at Chanyeol inquiringly, Baekhyun wondered if there was really anything else they had to agree on in the first place. Then a thought appeared in his mind. “You mean the food?”

Nodding, Chanyeol grinned. “Butterbeer.”

It took a while for Baekhyun to process what Chanyeol said but when it finally dawned on him what Chanyeol meant, he frowned. “But I don’t like butterbeer.”

Laughing, Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun’s knuckles again.

~*~

Months of preparing and they were finally in February. Almost every Goddess and God and their offsprings knew that Baekhyun, Son of Aphrodite, was going to get married to a human being. It was quite the buzz in Olympus and the various camps scattered throughout the globe for a few days. It wasn’t every day that one of their kind got married to a mere human. Goddesses and Gods played around with human lovers, sure. But none of them lasted. Getting involved with humans was a more Demigod-thing but most of them weren’t serious either.

“The wedding’s two months away. I want to die,” Baekhyun moaned to Kyungsoo, flopping on the other’s shared bed with Jongin.

“From happiness?”

“From nerves.”

Sighing, Kyungsoo walked over to his bed and patted Baekhyun’s butt to make room for him to lie down. They used to do this when they were younger – lie on their backs and stared at the ceiling as they talked about everything they could talk about. Except they used to have to sneak into each other’s cabins and not get caught but they had their own apartments now so they hardly stayed overnight at the camp anymore.

“What are you so worried about, Baek?” Kyungsoo asked, tone tinged with slight concern because Baekhyun was usually the carefree one of the two.

Playing with his fingers, Baekhyun began, “as you know, we agreed on white, red, and gold as the theme colours.”

“And?”

“And I’m not marrying Athena’s child.”

Baekhyun could feel Kyungsoo rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Why do you care so much about the others judging you? They’ll always judge anyone who marries a mortal. They’ll always be like that.”

Shaking his head, Baekhyun sighed. “I’m not concerned about the rest judging me but I don’t want them to judge Chanyeol.”

“Does he mind?”

“I never talked to him about it.” Licking his lips, Baekhyun tried remembering if he ever brought the topic about the other Demigods up before. “Okay, I kind of mentioned it once? About the others being quite judgemental and he didn’t really seem to care…”

“That’s good.” Then Kyungsoo added, “you don’t have to invite everyone anyway. Besides, Aphrodite didn’t say anything much about your wedding theme. Your father just seems really happy about the whole wedding and Chanyeol’s family are all over the moon, so everything’s good, right?”

“But what if this is all actually a bad idea? A very bad idea? What if Chanyeol doesn’t really want to marry me? And Aphrodite-forbid, but what if _I_ don’t really want to marry him? Maybe I should get married to another Goddess or God’s child after all? Wouldn’t it be easier that way?”

“No way,” Kyungsoo cut in. “And quit rambling about rubbish that you don’t mean. The walls have ears.”

“If you mean the Son of Apol – ”

“I don’t mean Jongin or anyone. It was just an expression,” Kyungsoo deadpanned and Baekhyun flashed him a sheepish smile. “As I was saying – no, it’s not easier to get married to another Demigod. You probably forgot about mine and Jongin’s wedding.”

“But that’s because your mom and his dad don’t really like each other. I’m talking about getting married to the son of some God or Goddess that my mom actually likes.”

“Wow. That’s very specific,” Kyungsoo marveled, tone dripping with sarcasm.

“And your wedding was a disaster.”

“Say whatever you want. I’m married and you’re not.” Hesitatingly, Kyungsoo asked, “it wasn’t all that disastrous, was it?”

“You know it wasn’t. And like you said.” Baekhyun cleared his throat to put on his best imitation of Kyungsoo. ““I’m married.””

He earned a whack on the stomach which only made him laugh in amusement.

Thinking back to his wedding, Kyungsoo realised how much trouble he had really gone through. Funny how it hadn’t seemed so complicated back then. “Normally, we’ll just combine everything, right? But who knew that Apollo’s and Demeter’s children hardly got married to one another. We couldn’t agree on anything because of our parents. I mean our human parents were fine with anything we chose but my mom and his dad were so…adamant on everything. I didn’t even know they cared so much.”

“White and green was a really bad combination.” Baekhyun nodded solemnly as he recalled Kyungsoo’s theme colours. In comparison, white, gold, and red sounded really pretty. And grand. And so _them_.

“Talking about white, maybe you should get married to one of Apollo’s sons after all. Since white is both Apollo and Aphrodite’s colour.”

Turning his head, Baekhyun grimaced at Kyungsoo, scrunching up his nose in distaste, wondering how his best friend could suggest such a thing.

Chuckling, Kyungsoo shook his head but he could still feel Baekhyun’s eyes trained on him. “I don’t even get why you hate them so much.”

“It’s not hate.”

“It’s childish and petty, right.” Before Baekhyun could protest, Kyungsoo was already talking again. “You must be wondering how Jongin and I made it through all that.”

“Honestly, you guys didn’t seem to have had such a hard time deciding anything at all.”

It was true. On the outside, Kyungsoo and Jongin had been the perfect picture of calm and serene. On the inside, they had both been nervous, anxious, unable to quench the queasiness that had been building in their stomach since the complications had started to arrive. But even then, that had only been feeling that – worried. Not once had they both thought about giving up and suddenly, it had all just gotten better and saying their oaths to one another on their wedding day had been the greatest thing Kyungsoo had ever experienced.

“I can hear you,” Baekhyun said in a sing-song tone.

“What?”

“You’re thinking so loudly about your wedding night.”

“You’re disgusting.”

Flipping over, Baekhyun looked at his friend still lying down on the bed. “And I’m curious. So how did you guys overcome all that? All the nerves and everything else. Don’t tell me compromise because been there, done that.”

“At the end of the day, you’re getting married to Chanyeol and he’s getting married to you. The end. No one else is involved so intimately in your marriage, right?”

“Yeah…” Baekhyun said softly, a distant look in his eyes. “It’s only me and him.”

~*~

The first thing Baekhyun did when he got back home was to check if Chanyeol was still agreeable to getting married at Olympus – the home country of all the Goddesses and Gods. The place where so many mythical beings will be gathered, including all of those judgmental and nosy Demigods Chanyeol had met at the camp.

“Chanyeol, are you okay with the wedding venue being at Olympus?”

“Yeah, why not? Unless you tell me we get to marry in the Great Hall,” Chanyeol quickly said and Baekhyun chuckled.

“Sorry, can’t.” Beside Baekhyun, Chanyeol huffed jokingly. “But I was just wondering if…you’d be bothered about the things the other Demigods might say about you…”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re human.”

Laughing, Chanyeol placed the magazine he was reading down on the table to look at Baekhyun who was already pouting at him. “But I am a human.”

“But they mean it in an insulting way,” Baekhyun protested, pouting even more when Chanyeol only laughed at him. Again.

Cupping Baekhyun’s face, Chanyeol leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose, making the other go cross-eyed for a moment. “And I’m getting married to you. Not them. I don’t really care what they think. Aphrodite’s son chose me and I chose him. Honestly, I think that’s enough.” Bringing Baekhyun’s hand to his lips, he gently kissed the Demigod’s knuckles.

“Kyungsoo said that too…” Baekhyun mumbled, averting his gaze down.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said gently. “When you’re scared, talk to me because there’s a high chance that I’m scared too so we can be afraid together.” Baekhyun laughed. Smiling, Chanyeol continued, “and when you wanna freak out, tell me. So that we can freak out together and make flowers grow in our entire house again.”

“That happened once.” Baekhyun pouted at the human.

_“Chanyeol…”_

_“What’s wrong, babe?” Lifting his head, Chanyeol furrowed his brows in worry. “You look…sick. Did something happen?”_

_“I think I ate something wrong at the camp.” Letting himself fall forward, Baekhyun sprawled himself out over Chanyeol’s lap and felt the other’s hand go to his head immediately. Sighing blissfully, he allowed Chanyeol to massage his head. It had been a tiring day at the camp and now he was having an upset stomach._

_“Erm…babe…”_

_Almost dozing off, Baekhyun gave a noncommittal hum._

_“Baek…why are there flowers growing on the couch?”_

_“Ask Kyungsoo…”_

_When Baekhyun felt something that definitely wasn’t Chanyeol’s hand tickling his nose, his slowly opened his eyes and squeaked when he saw a carnation right in front of him. Looking around he saw that the whole couch was wrapped in vines and a variation of flowers. Springing up, Baekhyun held his head in dread. “What is happening?”_

_“That’s what I’m asking you!” Chanyeol replied in an equally panicked tone. Standing up, Chanyeol held Baekhyun by the shoulders. “Stay calm.” Then he leaned in a pressed his lips against Baekhyun’s._

_The Demigod naturally kissed back, suddenly forgetting about the fact that their living room was about to be engulfed by flora._

_Pulling away, Baekhyun was in a daze until he saw sunflowers growing on their **wall**._

_“I’m going to faint.”_

  


It had been a silly mistake. Turned out that Baekhyun had consumed one of Kyungsoo’s potions at the camp by accident and its effects occurred according to Baekhyun’s moods. He could still remember what Kyungsoo had said that day – “You must be very happy for only flowers to be sprouting up. Some people get thorns.”.

“I was really happy, okay. Just lying in your lap and kissing you.”

“Damn, I really want to see how fast the flowers would grow now if you took another potion by accident.”

“We’d be drowning in flowers in seconds,” Baekhyun answered, leaning in to close the distance between their lips.

~*~

Planning for a wedding was really becoming more of a headache than Baekhyun had imagined. Almost everything was settled now. There was only a month left to the wedding and his stomach was still filled with knots that he couldn’t untie or even loosen.

They compromised on so many things. From the colour to the flowers to the venue. They mixed the colours they wanted while Hydrangeas won and Olympus came in triumph. There was only one thing left that they still hadn’t been able to decide on. It was a topic they mostly avoided to, afraid of what the other party might say. And the nearer the wedding date got, the more fearful they were of bringing it up.

The issue about the wedding vows and the oaths.

“Screw wedding traditions!” Baekhyun shouted to the wall, startling his siblings. Realising where he was, Baekhyun smiled apologetically before darting out of the cabin.

Upon spotting Kyungsoo, his face brightened up. Taking quick steps over the Son of Demeter, Baekhyun stopped right in front of him, effectively blocking the other Demigod’s way. “What’s my wedding theme?” Baekhyun asked.

“Olympian-Harry Potter? Or Harry Potter-Olympian,” came Kyungsoo’s instant reply, as if he was already preparing to answer that question. “Which one do you prefer?”

Sighing, Baekhyun buried his hands in his face. “Neither. They both sound ridiculous.”

“Sounds like you and Chanyeol.”

Removing his hands, Baekhyun looked at Kyungsoo with a weird expression, making his friend take a step back cautiously. “Did you know our guests are drinking from goblets? Because of Harry Potter. And then he joked about turning up in a Gryffindor robe!”

Glancing around, Kyungsoo noticed that people were starting to look at them, no thanks to Baekhyun’s loud voice. Grabbing Baekhyun’s arm, Kyungsoo pulled him towards Aphrodite’s Cabin and sat him down on the wooden stairs.

“Why did you do that?”

“You were being a walking megaphone and announcing that Chanyeol was going to turn up at the wedding in Gryffindor robes.”

“He _joked_ ,” Baekhyun corrected sharply, squinting his eyes at Kyungsoo.

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Kyungsoo then leaned back on his palms and stretched out his legs. “I thought Aphrodite’s children were supposed to be in control of their love and desire?”

Glaring at Kyungsoo, Baekhyun kicked the other’s leg. “I am in control of my feelings.”

“Really? Because you seem really out of control. I saw you using Charmspeak on some of Apollo’s kids just now to make them do your bidding. Don’t even try to lie.”

Sucking on his lower lip, Baekhyun nodded in acknowledgement. “That’s because they pissed me off. It has nothing to do with my feelings.”

“Because I just…I just…I…” Sighing, Baekhyun rested his face between his palms. “I love him so much.”

“I love you too.”

Suddenly, there was a figure blocking the sun and Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was.

“Why are you here?” Baekhyun was too distracted by Chanyeol’s appearance that he didn’t notice Kyungsoo quietly slipping away.

“Kyungsoo told me to come.” Occupying Kyungsoo’s previous seat next to Baekhyun on the steps, Chanyeol smiled at him. “Told me you were freaking out over the wedding to him. _Again_ “ he added pointedly, reminding Baekhyun of one of their previous conversations.

Head whipping around, Baekhyun scowled when he saw that Demeter’s son was no longer in sight. “That traitor.”

“What are you so nervous about?”

“Everything,” Baekhyun answered quickly, tucking his hair behind his ear for no other reason than wanting to occupy his hand.

“I know. But why?”

“Aren’t you?”

“I am. But whenever I think about who I’m going to marry, I can’t help but feel more excited instead. The happiness that I feel overshadows everything else.”

“Chanyeol…”

“Do you remember our first date?”

Scoffing, Baekhyun smiled at Chanyeol. “Remember? It’s practically etched in my mind. It was _horrible_.”

“You said that too that day.” Chanyeol grinned teasingly.

_“Wow…” Chanyeol paused and licked his lips as he took in Baekhyun’s appearance. “You look…”_

_“Horrible,” Baekhyun filled in the same time Chanyeol breathed out, “Great.”_

_“What?” Baekhyun spluttered._

_Scratching the back of his head, Chanyeol lowered his head in embarrassment. “I was going to say beautiful but I thought that might be weird since we’re not really dating yet…” Head shooting up, Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun with wide eyes. “Did I just say ‘yet’?”_

  


“You were so full of yourself,” Baekhyun marveled, shaking his head fondly. “Were you really that certain that I was going to date you one day?”

Tilting his head, Chanyeol’s mouth quirked. “Yeah,” he said with a nonchalant shrug as Baekhyun whacked him on the shoulder. “Need I remind you that you agreed to my wedding proposal too?”

“Well,” Baekhyun began, using his finger to trace circles on Chanyeol’s arm absentmindedly. “I do want to marry you so I’d be a fool to reject your proposal.” He lifted his finger and poked Chanyeol square on the chest. “But don’t think that I’ll say ‘yes’ to you all the time.”

Frowning, Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s wrist. “Isn’t that the case?”

Pulling his hand away, Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a look of mock disbelief.

“You give me reasons to be full of myself,” whispered Chanyeol lowly as he pressed their foreheads together and Baekhyun pouted in response, eliciting a chuckle from the former. “Smile, my Demigod. We’re getting married next month.”

~*~

“…yeol?” Baekhyun mumbled groggily, scrunching up his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut tighter. “You th’re?”

Huffing, Baekhyun blinked open his eyes, his brows coming together when he realised that the other side of the bed was cold. Also, there was something resting on his legs. Something _hard_. Like a really huge plate or a portable whiteboard. Curiosity was nagging at him to get up but the bed felt way too comfortable for him to move so he laid there for another ten minutes, almost dozing off again until he caught a whiff of pancakes.

So Chanyeol was making breakfast. Could his fiancé be anymore perfect?

Content, Baekhyun smiled to himself, stretching his arms above his head, yawning with his mouth wide open as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Baekhyun stared at the thing placed at foot of the bed with a blank expression for a few moments before his eyes widened in surprise

There was a tray of items right before his eyes.

Covering his mouth with a hand in disbelief, Baekhyun pulled the tray closer to himself to get a better look at the objects, to make sure that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.

Seashells, roses, and tiny, tiny pearls filled the tray. There were a variety of seashells on the tray, all of which were very small, but beautiful nonetheless. Picking up one of the shells, Baekhyun brought it to his ears and closed his eyes as he tried to listen to the sound of the ocean. It started out soft, then Baekhyun smiled when he could hear the waves crashing. Chuckling, he placed it back onto the tray before gathering a few rose petals in his palm, smiling at how vibrant the red hues were. And then there were the pearls.

With his index finger and thumb, Baekhyun held one bead and brought it in front of himself to observe it. It was exquisite – changing colours every time Baekhyun changed its angle.

“Morning, babe.”

Grinning, Baekhyun carefully put the pearl back down.

“So um…” Chanyeol rubbed his palms together as he approached the bed to sit at the edge. “Do you like the surprise?” Counting off his fingers, he listed, “seashells, roses, and – ”

His words got cut off abruptly as Baekhyun grabbed him by the front of his shirt and smashed their lips together.

“Pearls,” Baekhyun completed Chanyeol’s sentence after pulling away, the human staring at him with a dreamy smile on his face. “How did you even get these seashells?”

“I was cleaning up the beach at Camp Half-Blood,” Chanyeol answered in complete seriousness which only served to make Baekhyun throw his head back in laughter.

“No, really.” Baekhyun couldn’t stop smiling. “How? When did you even pick them up? How could I not have known when you were at the camp _looking for seashells_?”

“I may have gotten some help from Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol admitted, a triumphant grin settling on his face as Baekhyun nodded, looking impressed. “I got the flowers from the shop down the road and the pearls are from my mother’s bead making kit.”

Bringing his hand up to touch Chanyeol’s face, Baekhyun smiled at the other lovingly. “You didn’t have to.”

Covering Baekhyun’s hand, Chanyeol smiled back. “But I wanted to. And I’m going to give them to you every single day until our wedding.”

“You’re not joking are you?” Baekhyun moved back a little, trying to catch a shift in Chanyeol’s expression to tell him that the human was kidding. His mouth hung open in shock when Chanyeol only looked back at him sincerely. “You actually have enough things to last a whole month, don’t you?”

Shrugging, Chanyeol looked away. “You’ll see.”

The next morning, Baekhyun woke up to another tray of seashells, roses, and little pearls.

Oh, and the smell of waffles wafting into the room from the kitchen.

“Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun shouted.

“What?” Chanyeol shouted back almost immediately.

“I love you!”

Falling back onto the bed with a smile on his face, Baekhyun could hear Chanyeol banging into a wall as he rushed into the room and onto the bed so that he was hovering over Baekhyun. His leg kicked the tray away and it was tethering close to the edge but neither of them could bother with it.

“What did you say?” Chanyeol asked, a cheeky smile appearing on his face.

“I love you.” Leaning up, Baekhyun pecked Chanyeol on the lips. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

“I love you too, babe.”

~*~

Olympus was as grand as Chanyeol imagined it would be. Grander now because he was actually standing next to the love of his life, ready to walk down the aisle together, towards Hera, the Goddess of Marriage.

Years of dating and arguments and compromises and being in love, they were finally here, next to one another and ready to swear forever with each other.

Adjusting the lapels of his jacket, Baekhyun puffed up his cheeks and exhaled slowly. His fingertips were feeling tingly and smoothening out his already very well-ironed jacket kept him calm. If it weren’t for the fact that there were about a few hundred other people in the room, he would have started to bounce on the soles of his feet as well.

“You ready?” Chanyeol asked from beside him.

“Are you?” Turning to Chanyeol, Baekhyun found himself falling in love again. Falling in love with that innocent face and that teasing glint in his eyes as he looked at Baekhyun.

“Shall we?” Stretching out his arm, Chanyeol grinned widely, smiling even more when Baekhyun hooked their arms together.

The orchestra began and before they realised it, they were already standing in front of Hera.

“Your oaths,” said the Goddess of Marriage.

Opening his mouth, the words flowed out from Baekhyun smoothly. “In heaven, on earth, and even in hell, we won’t part. Our souls are bound to each other’s heart.” Raising a hand, he rested his palm over where his heart was as he offered Chanyeol a small smile. “This gift of eternity I promise you will allow the flames of love to always renew.”

“You have something else prepared?” Hera asked Chanyeol. “A wedding vow, was it?”

Baekhyun nodded firmly for Chanyeol. It had been a decision that both of them had reached together – Baekhyun would say the oath like all Demigods should and Chanyeol will go on with his wedding vow. That way, they could both fulfil their role in their tradition.

Hushed murmurs filled the room and Baekhyun was starting to feel anxious.

The moment Chanyeol opened his mouth, the whole room fell silent.

“In heaven, on earth,” Chanyeol began as Baekhyun’s eyes widened. “And even in hell, we won’t part.” He took a step closer to Baekhyun. “Our souls are bound to each other’s heart. This gift of eternity I promise you will allow the flames of love to always renew.”

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered in disbelief.

“I solemnly swear that I’ll love you for life,” Chanyeol continued with a huge smile and Baekhyun chortled before quickly composing himself and then sending an embarrassed smile to his father who watched on lovingly. “All my time spent with you will show up as the happiest moments of my life in the Pensieve. Your heart is easily the most valuable Golden Snitch and I think I scored more than a hundred and fifty points with where I’m standing now. Baekhyun, there are probably about a million references I could make but none of it can amount what I feel for you. And I promise that I’ll love you, _always_.”

“Was that your wedding vow?” Hera stared at Chanyeol.

“Yeah.” Smile still on his face, Chanyeol looked on gently at Baekhyun. “Can we get married now?”

A few sniggers sounded from the audience but they were immediately hushed by Hera’s stern look.

“I forma – ”

“Wait. Wait,” Baekhyun hurriedly cut Hera off and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. Pulling out a small piece of paper, Baekhyun quickly unfolded it and straightened the page as everyone in the hall watched on curiously. “You might belong with me, where dwell the brave at heart, your daring, nerve, and chivalry set you apart.” Stars twinkled brightly in Chanyeol’s eyes as he recognised the sorting hat’s song, giving Baekhyun the courage to go on. “Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for staying by my side. Thank you for being one heck of a Chaser.” They both chuckled at the Quidditch reference. “I don’t have much to say and I don’t know how I can make sure that you’ll always be happy but I promise that I’ll love you, _always_.”

Hand reaching out to caress Baekhyun’s cheek, Chanyeol’s eyes softened and he leaned in, tilting his head sideways, ready to kiss his _husband_ when a cough interrupted him.

Pulling back embarrassedly, Chanyeol glanced at Hera briefly before looking at Baekhyun who was trying very hard to hold back a laugh.

Clearing her throat again, Hera looked from Baekhyun to Chanyeol and back again. “I formally pronounce the union of your marriage official.”

~*~

“We’re married,” Baekhyun said breathlessly as his back hit the bed. “We just got married but we already have an apartment together and have been living together for two years.”

Climbing onto the bed, Chanyeol hovered above Baekhyun with his hands on either side of the Demigod’s head. “What about it?”

Sticking his tongue out, Baekhyun pretended to be thinking but ended up shrugging anyway. “Nothing about it. Just…” Baekhyun lifted his hands and cupped Chanyeol’s face, pulling the human closer until their lips were just shy of a few inches. “I love you so much.”

Just as Chanyeol was about to close the remaining distance between their lips, Baekhyun flipped them around so that he was now straddling Chanyeol with a triumphant smirk on his face. “I think we kissed enough while dancing.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Byun-Park.” Bopping Baekhyun on the nose, Chanyeol grinned when the Demigod scrunched up his nose cutely. “Kisses are never enough.”

“O-kay,” Baekhyun dragged the first syllable before giving Chanyeol a short peck on the lips. Folding his arms on top of Chanyeol’s chest, Baekhyun smiled down at his husband. “I agree. So tell me something else that I don’t know, Mr. Park-Byun.”

“I got a job.”

The words came out of Chanyeol’s mouth so smoothly and so quickly that Baekhyun almost thought he heard wrongly. Leaning back a little, Baekhyun squinted his eyes. “Yeah?” Shifting a little higher, Baekhyun bent down so that they were eye to eye. “Amidst all the wedding preparations and the wedding itself?”

“Yep.”

Quickly giving Chanyeol another kiss, Baekhyun grinned brightly. “I knew I got married to you for a reason.”

“Other than the fact that you love me?”

“Oh, you know that ranks on the top of my list.”

Smiling, Chanyeol sat up a little to lean on his elbows, making Baekhyun move back. Without warning, Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s shoulder and pushed the other down sideways onto the bed so that he was lying above the Demigod again. Slowly, he dipped down and kissed Baekhyun full on the lips, making the Demigod moan in response.

“Mm.” Baekhyun smacked his lips together after Chanyeol pulled away. “I could get used to you manhandling me. It’s so very ungentlemanly of you.”

Chanyeol scoffed. “That was probably my first time manhandling you in bed.”

“No,” Baekhyun stated simply, raising a finger to Chanyeol’s lips before the latter could argue. “And like I said, I could get used to it.” Bringing his hand up to Chanyeol’s second button, he quirked a brow. “Race you?”

Seconds later, when it was clear that Chanyeol was going to be done unbuttoning Baekhyun’s dress shirt before Baekhyun was done, the Demigod ripped apart the rest of Chanyeol’s shirt, sending two buttons flying away from the cloth. At the same time, Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun’s shirt open, revealing an expanse of milky white skin and defined lines over his stomach.

“Really?” Chanyeol mused, not entirely upset about the loss of his new shirt as Baekhyun pulled off one side of his shirt to bare his shoulder and pressing an open-mouthed kiss to it before falling back onto the bed.

“Kiss me.” Baekhyun jutted out his lips and closed his eyes, making Chanyeol laugh.

But Chanyeol did comply. Just that he didn’t kiss Baekhyun where the other wanted him to.

Baekhyun gasped when he felt Chanyeol’s lips on his neck. “Chanyeol,” he choked out, back arching when his _husband’s_ lips travelled further down, over the curve of his ribcage, his pectoral muscles, the side of his bellybutton. Back arching even more, Baekhyun whimpered.

Pulling off, Chanyeol grinned down at the Demigod who had a blush on his face, spreading all the way to his chest. “You liked that?”

“Not the first time you’re doing it, don’t act surprised” Baekhyun panted out, attempting to glare at Chanyeol but failing miserably with how turned on he was.

Leaning down again, this time, Chanyeol sucked on a pulse point at Baekhyun’s neck, causing the Demigod to moan loudly at the action. Then he moved up to litter butterfly kisses all over Baekhyun’s jaw. Finally, he was kissing Baekhyun on the lips and the latter was kissing back eagerly, hungrily.

Lifting his hips, Baekhyun shimmied out of his own trousers, using his legs to kick them off completely and then helping Chanyeol with his white pants. Meanwhile, Chanyeol was taking off Baekhyun’s shirt. They were always efficient in bed.

“We work so well together,” Chanyeol said happily in between kisses and Baekhyun simply hummed in agreement, thoroughly enjoying how there were no more unnecessary articles of clothing between them.

Tilting his head back to give Chanyeol more access, Baekhyun allowed the other to pepper kisses all over his neck, down to his chest, turning his skin to a rosy pink again. Wrapping his legs around Chanyeol’s hips, Baekhyun pulled the other closer to him with the back of his heels. He sighed in pleasure, eyes rolling backwards as his eyelids fluttered shut when he felt something hard pressing against his thigh.

“Lube,” he panted out but Chanyeol was already on it.

Chanyeol was as gentle and as careful with Baekhyun as he had been the first time, taking his time to prepare the latter slowly, lovingly. Quiet moans escaped Baekhyun’s lips and his breathing turned heavier with each finger Chanyeol added.

“Faster,” Baekhyun whined, a soft whimper slipping from his lips when Chanyeol started to nibble along his jawline.

“I’m making love to you, babe,” Chanyeol whispered and Baekhyun choked back a sob, digging his heels further into Chanyeol’s back. “We’ll do this slowly.”

When Chanyeol finally pushed in, _slowly_ like he promised, Baekhyun winced at the intrusion. It had been a while since they had done it and Baekhyun was suddenly grateful that Chanyeol was taking his time with him.

“I’m fine,” Baekhyun hurriedly assured before Chanyeol could make a comment about going even slower. He giggled suddenly. “This feels like our first time. Gosh, why?”

“Because it _is _our first time,” Chanyeol said to distract Baekhyun from the discomfort as he slid in deeper, making Baekhyun moan. “As husbands. Or our official wedded union.”__

__Laughing, Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol’s face in for a kiss, making a high noise in his throat when Chanyeol bottomed out. “Please don’t quote Hera. I want Chanyeol with me.”_ _

__Nodding, Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun on the nose. “You have Chanyeol with you.” Smirking, Chanyeol continued, “you have Chanyeol _in you_ too.”_ _

__“Stop that,” Baekhyun groaned, attempting to use an arm to cover the blush on his face but was stopped by Chanyeol._ _

__“Don’t. I want to see your face.”_ _

__They went slow, Chanyeol thrusting in and out of Baekhyun at a leisurely pace as soft moans filled the room. Baekhyun sucked in his breath sharply when he felt Chanyeol’s tip brushing against his prostate, pulling Chanyeol closer so that he could feel the pleasure exploding in his mind. It was pure bliss, absolute ecstasy every time Chanyeol hit the right spot, sending waves of electricity throughout his body, down to his toes. Everything was perfect, their lips locked together, their fingers intertwined with one another, and their bodies connected to each other. Nothing could ever be more perfect. They rocked against one another, a gentle push and pull motion falling in place until white spots dotted their visions and they came to completion almost simultaneously._ _

__Panting, Baekhyun slowly turned to lie on his side and found that Chanyeol was already smiling at him tenderly._ _

__“Hey, babe.”_ _

__Touching, Chanyeol’s face, Baekhyun rested his forehead against the other’s. “Is it even possible to love someone this much?”_ _

__“We’re living examples of it, aren’t we?” Chanyeol whispered. Then suddenly, an important thought appeared in his mind. “By the way, what do you want for breakfast? For our first breakfast as husband and husband.” Because food was that important._ _

__“Are we seriously talking about breakfast right now?” Baekhyun deadpanned._ _

__“Pumpkin juice?” Chanyeol suggested innocently, ignoring the Demigod._ _

__Laughing out loud, Baekhyun whacked Chanyeol on the shoulder before snuggling closer to the latter’s chest. “Sleep, you dork.”_ _

__Pressing a kiss to Baekhyun’s temple, Chanyeol mumbled, “love you.”_ _

__


End file.
